Michael's Movie Grade: B-
Review: Nothing new or thought provoking but a fun action movie none the less.
What makes this movie work is that the main character is likable and the stakes are well set before the action scenes. The main character like the story is one that we have definitely seen before. While you can argue that he is underdeveloped this does not change the fact he is quite likable. His actions always make sense and we admire him for doing what he feels is right even if he is bound to get in trouble for it. Adding to this is a very good performance by Gerard Butler that adds charm to the character. Also well handled is the character of Captain Andropov. His initial distrust of the Americans and how he grows a fondness for our protagonist is quite a believable transition and the performance by Michael Nyqvist is quite good. What is interesting is that even though this is an action film it starts off at a slow pace. This beginning is mostly handled by dialogue. This is an interesting contrast to the later scenes which are pure action. It works great though. We understand the massive stakes and already like the lead character by the time this movie becomes mostly action. Because of this the action scenes become more exciting, as which actually care about the outcome (even if we know it). This movie does not have to much humor, but I will admit the few funny parts succeed well, and there are a couple good laughs.
The downside is we have seen much of this movie before. Nothing feels fresh or new about this movie, and we all know how it will end. On top of this while our lead and the Russian captain are interesting characters, the rest of the characters are not that interesting. They fill their parts well enough, but we would never want to watch a movie staring these characters.
Yeah don't go in excepting anything new and thought provoking as you will be disappointed if you do. However for what this movie is, I had quite a bit of fun watching it and I appreciate that it took its time before the action scenes, creating a more exciting movie.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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